Thursday, November 29, 2007

I Slept Well!!

"The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

I had a very nice sleep last night. YEA! I was able to lay flat and on my side. Now this was while I was in the hospital so that really makes it special. There is still swelling so we are hopeful it will only open more. Saliva, food and liquids are always wanting to go through that open hole into the lungs so I have to really concentrate when eating or drinking. Normally it closes during swallowing but my cords are paralized.
Oh, I am overwhelmed with gratefulness for the success of the surgery. Thank you for all your prayers. It was such a hard week with the breathing issue.
Pray that I will not be weak in faith or fearful from present, momentary suffering. Our Father's love is too great for these feelings. May I only ponder with great joy the anticipation of seeing Jesus and "the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

More Surgery

I went to see Dr. DeTar, my throat doctor, on Tuesday morning about my difficulty breathing since last Wednesday. The airway has shrunk even more with no real apparent reason. We talked in depth again about a trach. This would be the best solution but one I didn't want to do. I can't go on this way though with breathing so labored and sleeping is a nightmare. Wednesday morning at 0700 am at KMC, Dr. DeTar will try taking out some implants we had put in the voice box area (months ago) to beef up the one vocal cord to make me talk better. Dr. DeTar hopes this will give me some space to open up the airway and improve my air exchange. I am very hopeful this will work but trying to surrender it all to Jesus and accept what lies ahead, fixing my eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of my faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Saturday, November 24, 2007

It was a Blast!


"To Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work with in us, to Him be the glory." Ephesians 3:20-21

Thank you for all your prayers for us over the week at Stoneridge. They were very small units but we all made the best of it and we had a wonderful week. We swam, played basketball, had fierce wally-ball competitions, boardgames, puzzles and plenty of vegging out.
Something happened in my voice box Tuesday PM which has made breathing and talking more difficult. I also got a cold and unfortunately by Friday AM, I was very ill and dehydrated. I got admitted over at KMC for hydration and to fine tune some other things and now it is Saturday 2mp and I am home again. Ready to hit the road again. Amazing how sick you can feel and 24 hrs later feel so much better. We are so blessed with out health care.
This week I'll go see Dr. Detar as to what happened in my voice box. While in the hospital, the family started getting Christmas decorations out, so we'll happily finish that up on Sunday evening. Kayla won tickets for whole family to go on a Holiday Lights Cruise to see Christmas lights around the resort on Coeur d'Alene lake. We are excited. Laura also sings at the Festivals of Trees at the resort on Sunday afternoon.
My prayer for all of us in the coming weeks is that more time would be spent with our Lord reflecting on God's precious gift for us rather than focusing on our dreaded 'To Do' list. (Oh I am so guilty)
Love to All, Susan

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The Lord is Near!

"The times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" Acts 3:19
I didn't sleep well last night. Got up early and had a wonderful quite time with the Lord. So amazing that I, Susan Vetsch, can have full access to God Almighty on a couch in Blanchard, ID.
The appointment with Dr. Tezcan was yesterday, Monday at 10:00 am. A big concern right now is my weight (110 lbs). He is putting me on an appetite stimulant to help with gaining weight. I'm going to start a new chemo drug next week. Will do one dose in December and then in January we'll go every 3rd week with it. It does cause nausea and nerve damage to hands and feet. The nausea causes concern with my lost of weight so I will go on a low dose steriod to see if that helps control it. Pray that I would tolerate the side effects and wisdom and peace to know how far and how long to fight.
Please also continue to pray that all of this would bring Glory to God and completeness to our family. Proverbs 14:30 says "A heart at peace gives life to the body."
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

Also keep praying for Nathan. He is doing fine, seeing alot of Iraq. The holidays are hard to be away. For those that are thinking of Christmas gifts to Nathan, go ahead and send them individually to his mailing address, he would love them. His address is:

Cpl. VETSCH, Nathan
1/10 P Battery 5/14
Unit 73323
FPOAE 09509-3323

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Sometimes No News is Good News

I know that a lot of you have been wondering what is up with us, so that is why we titled this the way we did. I am enjoying no chemo but I am still dealing with nausea and dry heaves on a random basis. Most of the time though I am feeling good. Enjoying the normalcy of life, including cooking, cleaning, raking leaves, etc. On Sunday, I drove over to Chewelah, WA to spend the night and all day Monday with my sister Jeanne. She is part of the traveling RN program and picked up the job for a couple of months in Chewelah so that she can be close to us. This coming Monday, I will see Dr. Tezcan to see what to do next. Pray for us as we decide further treatments for my cancer. We will be going to Stoneridge Resort nearby for Thanksgiving week starting this Friday. Pray that we all have a special family time, enjoying all of our personalities while living in such tight quarter (get my point) or should I say pray that we don't get on each others nerves. God Bless and enjoy Thanksgiving. We are so blessed!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Susan's Week

Susan did not do her usual chemo treatment this week. After a tough week last week, she decided not to do the chemo and we all agreed. She had a great weekend, bouncing back from the week. Her hydration on Friday really helped her recovery over the weekend. Now on Monday, she still had to go in to get her Herceptin treatment. Herceptin is an immune system (antibody like) drug which is for certain cancer patients. Susan has been on it periodically in the past few years. After Mondays treatment of Herceptin, she got sick throughout the evening. After sleeping and now into Tuesday, she is doing better. Pray that this is short lived and she continues to do well. Also pray for her weight. Even though she has been eating more, her weight yesterday hasn't changed. It may take weeks to really see a trend. Thanks for all your prayers. We are doing great! Jason's musical has been a hit and they have four more performances this week. Susan and Michelle plan on going again.

' "My Grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. ' 2 Corinthians 12:9

Friday, November 2, 2007

High School Musical

Tonight we all went to Coeur d'Alene High School's play this year called "High School Musical". Jason, our Senior, was a basketball player in the play. The Vetsch family isn't known for the 'Arts' so we were very excited to go see him. And he was great up on stage. He really has been having fun with the whole production. Yes as you can see, I am feeling better. They got me on some steriods to appease side effects from the chemo. It is official: I won't do chemo this coming Monday. Yea!! I will see Dr. Tezcan on Nov 19th for further options and treatments. In the meantime, I will use time to get stronger and to gain some desperately needed weight. I am so looking forward to precious family time over the holidays. Words can not express all the gratefulness for your prayers, love and support for us.

Hanging in there

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121
Hi ALL,
My hill is Canfield Mountain that is just east of us by about a mile. From our front room couch I can see a full view of it. These verses have kept me going through this week. Thank you for all your prayers on my behalf. Still very nauseated and can't eat much BUT NO dry heaves in the past couple of days, PTL! We thought I was getting hydrated because I have been drinking enough, I thought. But today at 3:30 pm I will go down to the Cancer Center and get hydrated through my veins. That will be good for me. We are still planning to cancel next weeks chemo treatment. I have peace about it and the family supports the decision. It gets REALLY wearing on me and the family, me being so sick. My days are blessed, enjoying the sun outside and resting. I have had a chance to pray for all you dear people in our lives. Our son Jason has been in his high school play. Its the "High School Musical" and he has a dancing and group singing part. He has been having fun with that. Something different than sports. Well we go to the play tonight and pray that I will be up to going. I should be feeling good after getting hydrated at the Cancer Center. Thank you all for your comments on the blog and your emails. God Bless!!!!